AIM

Hi and welcome to the motivation thoughts blog. It is aimed at getting you to get up off your seat to do something – something that YOU WANT to do, even if your inner self is grumbling about it. Look out for posts on getting your study skills honed, for getting your exercise included in your routine, on time management, on getting your writing done, whether it’s your novel, your thesis or a school essay and how to get the house clean among other things!

So What is Motivation?

Motivation is the inner force you can develop and use to get things done that YOU want to do!

But what EXACTLY is Motivation?

Motivation is personal power and it has 3 parts to it, passion, energy and ability.

Passion

To get motivated you need to get passionate about what YOU WANT to do. You’ve felt that passion before – maybe you were determined to keep that hula hoop up longer than anyone else, or perhaps you really wanted to paint the best ever picture in your class, or kick the longest goal or have the techiest new equipment. This blog will help YOU remember what that passion was like and start you on the road to develop YOUR passion for whatever it is YOU want to do, whether it’s to get more exercise, improve your grades in school or college or university, keep your living quarters from becoming a pig sty or become a better entrepreneur.

Energy

You need two types of energy for motivation: short term energy – the kick in the seat to get

Match – short term energy to get you started

you started and stuck in; and long term energy, to keep you going when the going gets tough. This blog will help you get that energy, both short term energy to get a good start on what you want to do and that long term energy to keep your battery going! Think of the short term energy as striking a match – that sudden flare of energy that starts you off on your new project or gets you stuck back in to a project that you have left lying. The long term energy can be thought of as a reservoir, keeping a steady flow of energy for powering you through the tough times.

Ability

Now, don’t panic – this is NOT about being a star before you start. This is about making sure your dreams are actually possible. It’s great to have a dream about being able to fly. But if it involves literally growing a set of wings, that MAY not be possible. On the other hand, Orville and Wilbur Wright had that dream and they developed the aeroplane. This blog will help you work out how to achieve your dream and the best possible way of achieving it within your ability – and flying IS possible.

What Do YOU Know About Motivation?

I have been interested in motivation all my life, right from when I was in school and knew I needed to get my homework done but the television or playing outside had a much greater call on my senses. Over 40 years later, I have learned how to keep a house clean, get a degree and even get a higher research degree, lose weight and get fit. Along the way, I have learned a few tips and tricks to make work a LOT easier and I want to share those with you, if you will let me. Thank you for reading this far.

Want the Top Tips on Study Skills?

make studying easier and smarter

There’s a new post about creating your own study ritual and how to make learning fun and keep at it, even when the dishes are calling or even the bathroom needs to be cleaned! Click here for tips on creating a study ritual

What is motivation?

Motivation is being able to set and achieve goals in some area of your life. Some goals can be their own rewards, for instance, getting an Olympic gold medal, however, the amount of work that is needed to achieve that kind of goal is often more than many of us are prepared to put into one area of our lives.

While most of us will never achieve an Olympic gold medal, we CAN use the same techniques to build our own motivation to achieve the goals WE want to reach. These goals may be in study, housework, exercise, diet, healthy eating or anything else but the same techniques can be used to help YOU achieve YOUR goals.

Write it Down
Whatever your goal, write it down,

Think it, then write it

and your reasons for doing it. Having this information written down will remind you of what you really want when you start to lose motivation. It is a great form of inspiration. Research has shown that those who write down their goal(s) and keep them near (in your wallet, posted on the wall, in a book you look at often) are more likely to achieve them. You can even create a VISION BOOK or a VISION CHART for yourself, to help you reach your goal.

Keep it Simple
If you are trying to improve some of your weaknesses, try setting some simple attainable goals first. You may start out feeling negative toward your goal and it will help you a great deal to get the motivation to keep going if you meet the goals. So get some baby steps you can focus on, instead of the big goal.

One step at a time

Break down large goals into manageable steps. Many times our goals are lofty, which is a good thing. However large goals can seem unattainable, causing you to become daunted and lose motivation. Before you start any large project or goal, break it down into smaller steps. Get as detailed as you can. Soon you will be well on your way to success.

A great tip that can help you with motivation is to not put all your eggs in one basket. If all you do is obsess about your progress, you’ll become impatient and you might lose motivation. Try focusing on many different things and not just your goal.

Help Yourself Stay Happy
Keeping a healthy diet will greatly influence the quality of your life. A diet consisting of plenty of fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains, seeds and nuts will elevate serotonin levels which aids in reducing depression and increasing motivation. Conversely, diets low in complex carbohydrates can lower your serotonin levels.

Get Help

Working together helps everyone reach the top.

It can be difficult to succeed on your own and other people can sometimes give you motivation and advice that you can’t give yourself. So, in order to achieve your life goals, make sure you enlist the support of others but make sure they are TRUSTED others.

Take Stock
Remember that we are often unmotivated when we are doing things we feel are not worth our time. Take stock of what you spend your time on, and determine if this is truly necessary for the other parts of your life. We have a limited amount of time on this planet, so be sure to spend it wisely.

Enjoy Yourself
When you are trying to improve a new skill, start a new diet, or even a new course, it is important to try and make it something you enjoy. If you are constantly dreading the new part of your life, you will quickly lose motivation and find ways to give yourself excuses. There is no point is trying to achieve something in an area you dislike. If you enjoy it, motivation will come much more easily.

Read on
Read on for more tips and links to gaining motivation in an area YOU are interested in.

Motivation Charts

You can create a motivation chart to help you keep track of what YOU want to accomplish. By placing it somewhere that you will see it every day and by rewarding yourself for doing your tasks, you can take those important small steps to achieving YOUR goals. You can download a FREE Motivation Chart for helping you keep track of your steps to achievement

Product

Description

Price

motiv1

A motivation chart for helping you to start and continue those small steps to making the changes you want.

Nursing the baby to sleeAs it’s most likely you are the granny, helping your offspring out I will use PD to stand for Precious Daughter / Daughter-in-law and PG to stand for Precious Grandchild. But if you are not the granny, don’t let that stand in the way of being able to help a new mother!

There are times when it is very useful for someone else to nurse the baby, instead of the mother (or other parent). If you want to read more about when Grannies SHOULD nurse the baby, then click here.

can be hard. “I don’t know how”, “I don’t have time”, “I can’t afford it”. None of these excuses is true. That’s all they are – excuses! We all know we need to get a certain amount of exercise. That’s a no-brainer. It screams at us from web sites, posters and magazine articles. And we know we “ought” to do it. After all, our families need us and they need us to be healthy. Think how much more pleasant life is when you’re fit and can do things for yourself, instead of being dependent on others unnecessarily.Let’s attack the “I don’t know how” first. Read More…

Your old kitchen looking new!

getting your kitchen to look like new

Are you ashamed of a mucky, messy, filthy kitchen, maybe even looking like a hazardous area? It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend money and time on ripping it all out and starting again. After all, if you keep to the same habits, it won’t be long before your new kitchen will look just like the old one. Add a few small new habits on a regular basis to your day and you might find your old kitchen looks like new. Get some tips on refreshing your kitchen here….

Would you love to do some exercise

but feel selfish trying to find the time?

trying to find time

Well, just like the airline safety videos say in the oxygen mask video, Help yourself first.

The reason they say that is because you can’t help anyone else (child, spouse, parent, friend, etc) if you collapse from lack of oxygen. Exercise is exactly the same, you need to set yourself first for a while to get the time for exercise. And if you find it difficult to get the time for exercise because of all the other things you have to do, then think about how those others will manage, or not manage if you become ill from lack of exercise! You NEED to put your exercise needs into your regular routine. If you ….. read more here

These tips will help you to help the new parent(s) and you can also use them if you are helping out a neighbour or a friend or are even doing voluntary work helping new single parents. It’s most likely that you are a Granny helping your precious daughter or daughter in law with your new grandchild, so I am going to refer to the new parent as PD (precious daughter / daughter in law) and the new baby as PG (precious grandchild). You can read the top 10 tips on when NOT to nurse the baby here

These tips will help you to help the new parent(s) and you can also use them if you are helping out a neighbour or a friend or are even doing voluntary work helping new single parents. It’s most likely that you are a Granny helping your precious daughter or daughter in law with your new grandchild, so I am going to refer to the new parent as PD (precious daughter / daughter in law) and the new baby as PG (precious grandchild).

No matter the state of the house, do not criticise anything. You are there to help, not point out mistakes or shortcomings. Keep your lips buttoned, unless you are praising something.

You are there to support PD. You are NOT there to look after PG. Unless your health or your disability totally prevents you from physically helping with the housework or PD is ill – let PD look after the baby. They need to bond and right now is the best time. Nursing PG in order to let PD “get on with the housework” is SELFISH. PD needs rest, to feed and change the baby and to bond with PG. You will have plenty of time in the future to get to know your new grandchild and you may be needed to nurse the baby for a short while anyway, while PD uses the loo or gets dressed.

When you first go into the house, check whether PD needs water or a cup of tea or coffee and something to eat. The first priority is to make sure PD is healthy and nourished.

The next most important task is to check whether something is available for the day’s main meal. It may need to come out of the freezer or it may need to be made. It may even need a phone call or a trip to the shop to get food in.

The next most important task is the laundry. There is always laundry! Get a wash started in the machine. If you are there long enough, you may be able to get it into the dryer or out on the line or hung on airers before you leave. If you hang it out on the line, you will need to bring it in BEFORE you leave that day, because PD will either forget or not have time. If there is dry laundry hanging around, fold it and put it away. It is best not to take laundry to your own house, unless it is an emergency.

Now you can get any dishes done, either in the sink or load the dishwasher. You may need to put dishes away or empty the dishwasher before you can wash more.

Check whether the bed has been made and if not, make it.

Check whether the bathroom needs cleaned. The main things are the sink and toilet and checking that there is enough loo roll / toilet paper.

Empty any waste bins / trash cans.

If you have any time and energy left, vacuum the stairs and landing and living room, or for the kitchen or hard floors, sweep and mop. You don’t have to do all of this every time you go. If this type of work is exhausting for you, or you have limited time, choose one area for each visit and do that. Choose a different area the next visit.